The Four Directions Stir

The next day, news of what had happened the day before was swiftly spread across the Central Plains by those with ulterior motives.

After fermenting over time, the reactions were clearly much more intense than they had been that day.

Some slower-to-react forces were caught off guard by this sudden upheaval.

Had this day really been that long?

I went to sleep, and when I woke up, the Heavenly Underworld Old Demon had become a Saint? He had been killed by the Langya Pavilion Master? The Heavenly Underworld Sect was gone? The Langya Pavilion Master had become a Saint?

Could all of this really have happened in a single day?

It had to be said that the Langya Pavilion's people had acted extremely quickly. From the moment they began their operation to the time they finished cleaning up the battlefield, less than half a day had passed.

They had even held a wedding along the way, perfectly demonstrating what efficiency meant.

Although the Langya Pavilion's sudden large-scale mobilization yesterday, along with the commotion within the Heavenly Underworld Sect's headquarters, could not have been concealed.

The same lightning-fast offensive was something they had never seen before. No one had ever fought like this. Two forces had gone straight to war—could they really not leak even the slightest hint beforehand?

The facts proved that they really could not.

Strictly speaking, the Langya Pavilion had merely been counterattacking passively. It was just that the Heavenly Underworld Sect was too weak; they could not even break through the Langya Pavilion's defenses. That was rather awkward, wasn't it?

To prevent the news from leaking, the Heavenly Underworld Old Demon had kept a tight rein on his subordinates. Even ordinary elders had known nothing.

The Langya Pavilion, meanwhile, had acted on a spur-of-the-moment decision and mobilized directly.

And then, just like that, the Heavenly Underworld Sect had collapsed.

Well, all that could be said was that this was an overwhelming difference in hard power, far beyond what human effort could overcome!

As for the destruction of the Heavenly Underworld Sect, many people in the Central Plains wanted to set off firecrackers in celebration. After all, it had been a major scourge of the Central Plains.

Not only was its cultivation method extremely cruel, but it had also selected disciples through a method resembling the raising of venomous insects. At the same time, the conduct of the Heavenly Underworld Sect's disciples was despised by everyone.

However, the subsequent division of the Heavenly Underworld Sect's former territory also showed many forces an opportunity.

If they could take advantage of the situation and get even a little of the leftovers, many small and medium-sized sects could experience a tremendous surge in strength.

But although they thought this way, they did not dare put it into action. Otherwise, the Langya Pavilion's blade would teach them who was really in charge!

As for the mysterious Langya Guards who had appeared, most of the forces in the Central Plains expressed extreme awe.

Nearly forty Dou Zun experts—that was probably something only a handful of major forces could produce.

Even if the Four Directions Pavilion were merged, it could not gather so many Dou Zun experts. Compared with the Langya Pavilion, the Four Directions Pavilion's performance had been far too embarrassing.

Four Directions Pavilion: "We've really made the Four Directions Pavilion lose face."

Rumors had even begun circulating in the Central Plains that the Four Directions Pavilion was undeserving of its name and should be directly disbanded.

The Four Directions Pavilion was furious about this, but at the same time, it was helpless.

People's mouths belonged to them. What could they do?

As a result, the cultivation atmosphere within the Four Directions Pavilion improved greatly during this period, and many elders and disciples began cultivating diligently.

They longed for a chance to erase their shame, though it was not very realistic.

After all, the Langya Pavilion had endured hardship and bided its time for over a century. If a short burst of effort could let them catch up, how could they face the Langya Pavilion?

But one always had to have dreams. What if they came true?

However, those were matters for later.

Let us analyze once more which forces could produce forty Dou Zun experts.

Even the forces capable of doing so felt somewhat solemn at this moment. Their ability to produce so many Dou Zun experts came from the vast size of their families and businesses, as well as their numerous industries.

Take the Pill Tower, for example. In terms of wealth, it could be called the richest force on the entire continent. Alchemists were wealthy to begin with, and the Pill Tower was the sacred land of alchemists across the continent. Naturally, it was rolling in money.

As for the Soul Hall, there was even less to say. Backed by the mighty Soul Clan, it certainly had no shortage of resources.

And that was only what lay beneath the surface, unknown to most people.

There was also what was visible on the surface.

Although, on the surface, they seemed to be nothing but a bunch of unlucky bastards who offended everyone—from the Soul Hall Heavenly Venerate and Venerable Elder down to ordinary cannon-fodder Soul Envoys, hardly any of them looked wealthy.

But their business covered a wide range. They had branches in nearly every corner of the continent, with no blind spots. Scooping up just a little from each place was enough to cover the organization's expenses.

The remaining forces either had long histories and abundant reserves, or numerous industries that brought in ten thousand gold coins a day.

But the Langya Pavilion had never been heard to possess any industries. Where had it gotten so much ill-gotten wealth?

The Langya Pavilion, however, had no time to care about the guesses of other forces.

At present, the Langya Pavilion's people, led by Grand Elder Ye Jianxin, were busy receiving another batch of gifts—greeting gifts from many forces.

Yes, that was right. Without the Pavilion Master and Deputy Pavilion Master, because these were the two men's happy days.

They had just married and were in the midst of their blissful honeymoon, completely inseparable. Who in the entire Langya Pavilion would dare disturb them? Did they still want to keep their positions?

The Pavilion Master had become a Dou Sheng expert. Naturally, many forces had to send gifts for such a joyous occasion, and these gifts were relatively generous. Even the Pill Tower had given one.

After all, hardly anyone was foolish enough to hope that a Saint-level powerhouse would visit their sect, or even stop for a cup of tea.

Some gifts were a little worse, sent by comparatively weaker sects.

There was nothing that could be done about that. Their forces were small to begin with, so how could they possibly obtain anything good? Even if they did, they would not be able to keep it!

The moment the news leaked, several experts would come knocking for tea the next day.

The Langya Pavilion's people were quite easygoing about this. They expressed understanding of the sects' requests and said they could provide an answer after a few more days.

These sects had come bearing gifts simply to sound out the Langya Pavilion and ask whether they could take over some of the Heavenly Underworld Sect's former territory.

After all, the Langya Pavilion could not possibly take over the Heavenly Underworld Sect's entire territory.

There were also some former forces under the Heavenly Underworld Sect that had survived because the Langya Pavilion had been unable to act at the time.

These people were terrified and treading on thin ice. They had sent over the most valuable things in their entire sects, nearly emptying their treasure vaults. Their sincerity was practically overflowing.

There was no helping it. In the eyes of these sects, they were already a group of fish that had slipped through the net.

If they did not know how to behave, who knew when the old accounts would be reopened and they would be executed publicly?

In truth, the Langya Pavilion had never cared much about these forces. It had originally intended to leave them alone.

Since they had come knocking themselves, the Langya Pavilion naturally gave them its promise and let them return with peace of mind.

They had stayed busy for several days before finally finishing the inventory of all the gifts, including the congratulatory gifts from the wedding banquet a few days earlier. It could be said that the Langya Pavilion had received so many gifts that their hands had gone soft.

But because a group of Heavenly Underworld Sect scoundrels had caused trouble midway, they had received considerably fewer gifts than they otherwise would have.

Thinking of this, many Langya Pavilion elders and disciples even wondered whether they should dig out the corpses of those Heavenly Underworld Sect scoundrels and whip them.

Oh, they had already been reduced to ashes? Then never mind.

Looking at the lists of various resources before him, Ye Jianxin was grinning from ear to ear.

There was simply too much. Old Ye was truly overwhelmed by their generosity!

But how was he supposed to give it to those two?

Forget it. After imagining the consequences of going over now, Ye Jianxin decisively shook his head. He would store it away first. It was not as if it could run off.

Then he glanced at the mountain of documents and affairs piled up on the desk before him, and Ye Jianxin felt that all hope had left his life.

How had Yi Huang managed to do this back then? Could this be the power of love?

Thinking that most of these matters concerned the cities governed by the Heavenly Underworld Sect, Ye Jianxin gave a strange smile.

He rummaged through the pile of documents for a while and picked out a portion to deal with first.

And then...

Hehehe~